Life is difficult at Pakistan’s Jalozai camp for displaced persons

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NOWSHERA, Pakistan -- Warmth, food and medical care.

Things many people take for granted are not so easy to come by if you have fled your home in Pakistan.

Thousands of families uprooted during Pakistani military operations against militants are facing a harsh winter with limited supplies at Jalozai, one of the world’s largest camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The sprawling Jalozai camp, divided into 14 sections on a dusty plain in the Nowshera district, 30 kilometres east of Peshawar, is home to some 139,000 people displaced from the Bajaur, Mohmand and Khyber tribal regions of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) that border Afghanistan.

Some 14,000 people, mostly from the Bajaur Agency, were shifted to Jalozai from the Katcha Garhi camp near Peshawar last year. This was part of a government policy to concentrate the IDPs in a few big camps for better security and care.

Some 60 families from the Swat district have also relocated to Jalozai after having lived in three different camps since the military’s offensive against the Taliban militants in May last year.

The Jalozai camp sprang up in the early 1980s when Afghans fleeing the Soviet invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan settled there. The camp had barely closed in early 2009 after repatriating many Afghan refugees and relocating others before a need was felt to accommodate displaced Pakistanis.

Shaukat Khan Afridi, acting camp administrator, said scarcity of funds is the major challenge.

“We barely manage to look after these people as they are so many and we have nothing to give”, he said. Fazal Karim, 65, from Bara in the Khyber Agency, lives with his three daughters and two sons in one tent.

Although he was satisfied with the food rations, he said there were not enough blankets.

“I shiver during the night despite wrapping myself in three blankets and my woollen shawl,” said Fazal, a Pakistani Army veteran.

Gul Jamala, a 60-year old widow from Bara, said her tent, which she shares with her son, daughter in-law and two grandchildren, is not winterized.

“We cover the children with three blankets to keep them warm, but they cry at night because of the cold”, she said. But, “At least there is no threat to our lives in the camp”.

Jamala’s neighbour in the adjacent tent wasn’t satisfied with the quantity of food or the medical facilities. The woman, Kandaharo, 58, said food rations were inadequate.

The World Food Program (WFP) distributes food packages at the camp monthly. “Each package consists of 40 kg of flour, 8 kg of lentils, 4 kg of sugar, 5 litres of cooking oil, 1 kg of salt, 300 grams of tea and 4 kg of high energy biscuits for children,” WFP spokesman Amjad Khan told Central Asia Online.

“Life could get a lot easier if the same amount of food was distributed fortnightly rather than monthly”, Kandaharo said.

Mian Gula, 55, who lived close to Kandaharo and Jamala, died about a month ago. “She felt pain in her kidney late in the evening and died the same night”, said Kandaharo, adding that Gula’s husband could not take her to the hospital because it was far away.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) runs Basic Health Units (BHUs) in the camp. They provide basic healthcare, but lack emergency or specialized medical services.

Abdul Haq, 7, from Bajaur, said he was studying at the village madrassa (religious school) before his family escaped the fighting in a Taliban-controlled area.

“I miss my village. It is beautiful. I pray that the war ends soon so that I can go back”, Abdul said.

Abdul said he and his brother Sajjad, 3, cannot sleep at night because of the cold. “The chilly weather makes Sajjad cry and makes it even more difficult for me to sleep due to the noise”, he said.

Some children sell things in camp to augment the family’s income. Shazia, 9, is the youngest among five brothers and three sisters. She sells candies her 11-year old brother brings from the market. Shazia said she earns Rs. 30 to 40 (36 to 47 cents) daily at her makeshift shop.

“I don’t know if the war will ever end and my family will return home,” she said dejectedly.

Some parents complained about the Jalozai schools. Eight schools are in the camp but Zarina, 10, said she has to walk 40 minutes each way to school.

“I walk to school in the morning when it is very cold. I am very hungry and tired when the school finishes and then have to walk back to our tent,” she said.

According to UNICEF education officer Syed Fawad Ali Shah, UNICEF and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) plan more schools.

“Assessment and tent pitching for setting up a school in Phase 8 of the camp is on-going. Due to the influx of displaced persons, UNICEF will establish six new schools in the remaining sections of the camp”, he said.